Oscar starts out by informing the reader, "This is my book, and I don't want you to read it."

Bothered by the reader's attention, he decides to move out of his trash can, and let somebody else move in. He puts on a blonde curly wig, and pretends to be "Melody", a new little girl who lives on Sesame Street. But when Big Bird sees "Melody", he invites everyone to meet their new neighbor, and Oscar gives up the charade.

Frustrated, Oscar hides in a pyramid of trash cans, but he can still be seen. He then transforms his can into a "superduper grouch rocket balloon", which floats him high up into the sky. A bird pops the balloon, and he falls back to the ground.

At the end of the book, Oscar realizes that the reader is going to go away, and he won't have anybody to yell at and complain to anymore. He tells the reader to come back: "You really make me mad!"